• Contents of this Issue
  • Minutes of the 1248th Meeting
  • Confederate Quartermaster Stagecoach and Railroad Scrip
  • Exhibits
  • Counterstamped Coins for 1250th Meeting
  • Preview of Our March Banquet
  • Upcoming Meeting
  • Important Dates
  • Chatter Matter
  • Share This Issue!
• Other Chatter Issues
  • Prior Issue
  • Next Issue
  • All Past Issues
• Contact Editor

Chatter

Minutes of the 1248th Meeting

The 1248th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President John Riley at 6:45 PM CST, Wednesday January 11, 2023. This was a hybrid in-person and online meeting. Attendance at the meeting was 15 in person and 33 online, for a total of 48.

Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report

The December 2022 meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website.

Treasurer Elliott Krieter submitted the treasurer’s report for both the November and December periods. November period income of $4,608.00 (Auction revenue, Dues, Banquet, Donation), expenses of $1,769.75 (Auction payout, room rent, Die cost), for a period total of $2,838.25.

December period income $1,460.00 (Dues, Banquet, Donations), expenses of $5,280.41 (Chatter expense, room rent, Banquet expense, Club registration fees), for a net loss of $3,820.41. Inquiries regarding the profitability of the annual banquet were raised, and it was clarified that banquet revenue is recorded over several month’s reports while the expense is recorded in one month’s treasurers report.

Guests and New Members

Four guests were reported: the three online guests of featured speaker Steve Feller were Ray Feller, Barbara Feller, and Heidi Berger; the in-person guest was Anne Anaszewicz.

Old Business

1. Secretary Scott McGowan Reported on the various committees of the Chicago Coin Club, and the opportunities that members have to participate on any of the Committees. They are…
   1. Hall of Fame Committee – Researches and proposes club members for the CCC Hall of Fame.
   2. ANA Host Club Committee – Plans and manages the ANA WFoM support for WFoM in Chicago.
   3. Nominating Committee – Researches and nominates future club officers.
   4. Legacy Committee – Plans and interviews long standing club members to document their history.
   5. Technology Committee – Reviews, proposes and manages technology for hybrid online meetings.
   6. Banquet Committee – Reviews selection of location and planning of the CCC annual banquet.
   7. Audit Committee – meets to audit the CCC financial records as per the By-laws.
   8. Anniversaries Committee – Proposes and plans events and exonumia for key CCC anniversaries.
   9. [Editor’ Note: After the meeting, we were reminded of the Medal of Merit committee; it is not one that takes action every year, so it is easy to overlook.]
2. Mark Wieclaw reported on the 1250th CCC meeting and the various details of the event. There will be a Banquet the night of the 1250th meeting, in March 2023, which will be at Capri Italian Restaurant in Palos Heights. Attendees will receive a 1250th meeting souvenir card and elongated coin. The Club will also issue a counter stamped 2023 Silver Eagle Coin for advanced sale purchase of $60. See further details about the banquet in this issue of the Chatter.
3. Reminder: Dues for 2023 are due by March 1, 2023.

New Business

1. The first CCC board meeting for 2023 will be held February 15, 2023. Submit any recommendations or issues to a board member for the meeting by February 10, 2023.
2. ANA Officer nominations. – 2023 is an election year for officers of the American Numismatic Association (ANA). To clarify the process, Club Secretary Scott McGowan explained that the CCC, as a Club Member of the ANA, can nominate individuals for ANA offices with a formal nomination form. The CCC has traditionally nominated an individual for an ANA office if they are a member in good standing of the CCC and ask the CCC for nomination. For each ANA office, any ANA member can nominate no more than the number of votes that can be cast for that office in the election: one for president, one for vice president, and seven for governor.
   Motions were made to nominate two individuals for ANA governor: Jeff Rosinia was nominated by Bob Leonard and seconded by Steve Zitowsky; Richard Jozefiak was nominated by Jeff Rosinia and seconded by Bob Leonard. Both were approved by the club membership.
   These nominations are completely separate from any nominations that a CCC member wishes to make as an individual ANA member.

Featured Program

After Steve Feller’s presentation on Confederate Quartermaster Stagecoach and Railroad Scrip, First Vice President Melissa Gumm indicated Steve would receive a Club Speaker’s Medal and an ANA education certificate.

Show and Tell

Second Vice President Deven Kane announced there were 10 Show and Tell presentations.

Announcements

1. Will County Coin Club Show, Joliet, Illinois, February 26, 2023.
2. ANA National Money Show, Phoenix, Arizona March 2-4, 2023.
3. Central States Numismatic Society Convention, Schaumburg, Illinois, April 27-29, 2023.

Bob Leonard added that the National Money Show will be a very large show, and recommended that CCC members consider attending. Deadline for the ANA hotel rate is February 6, 2023. Bob also referenced a recent mailing by the Central States Numismatic Society about updates to the 2023 convention, regarding bourse tables and meeting space, that will need review.

The next meeting will be February 8, 2023 at 6:00pm CST.

John Riley adjourned the meeting at 9:00pm CST.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Confederate Quartermaster Stagecoach and Railroad Scrip

a presentation by Steve Feller,
to our January 11, 2023 meeting.

With images of a steam locomotive and an overloaded stagecoach, the title slide aptly introduced Steve’ presentation. With ten passengers seated on baggage atop the coach, with more baggage strapped off the back, and four horses in harness, it still must have been better than walking! That was followed by a closeup view of a note from Cherry Valley, Tennessee, dated Nov 5th 1862, with an idealized rendering of a stagecoach pulled by galloping horses – there is not even a small piece of baggage on top or strapped off the back to break the clean lines. Although Tennessee had seceeded, the eastern third had strong feelings for the Union.

The Quartermaster’s Department of the Confederate States had rules and regulations for how it did its job – the 200-page Regulations of the Confederate States Army for the Quartermaster’s Department including the Pay Branch Thereof, with an Index and an Appendix has detailed instructions, even for the types of travel accomodations for officers and enlisted men. The first example Steve showed us was an issued piece: issued on Mar 11, 1865, the fields are filled in with No. (4868), For (One) Seat, From (Albany), To (Quincy). The front’s printing shows it was issued at Albany, Georgia, and it is Payable Upon Presentation of This Coupon. The back has the handstamp of H.F. Hoyt, Treasury Agent; in ink along one side are PAK 13039 (the imprint of noted civil war philatelist Patricia Kaufman) and also RCA. The custom among stamp people is to indicate the provenance on the piece, and it also can serve as an authenticator’s mark. On a Google Map, Steve highlighted the current road from Albany, Georgia to Quincy, Florida, giving 85 miles as the distance and estimating the travel time at over 10 hours.

The South did not have an extensive rail network at the war’s start, and the facilities’ quality degraded during the course of the war. Steve estimated the typical speed as 5 to 8 miles per hour, for both stage and rail at the war’s start, but the rails ran even slower as the war continued. The South had more stage routes than rail routes.

Steve is aware of four examples of notes for travel from Albany to Quincy, all from early 1865. These paper items are for one-time use, and likely were discarded (paper recycled) after they had been turned in by the stage company, and government accountants had no further need for them. The front of the second shown example, using the same printed form, is marked by a handstamp of CAPT P.K. HINES A.Q.M. That A.Q.M. appears often, as either printed text or applied later; it stands for Assistant Quartermaster. Collectors leave various records of their specialized research – Mike McNeil wrote Confederate Quartermasters, Commissaries, and Agents – which can be invaluable to other collectors and researchers. Steve also mentioned Confederate Issuers of Train and Hoer Notes by Michael McNeil, which details the names signed and stamped on a set of notes; this information helps in decoding the faded, misapplied, and indecipherable names that modern collectors find on their notes.

The fourth example from this route uses a form different from that used for the other three; the printing on it shows it is from Augusta, Georgia, with Stage written in the space for the name of the used R.R. (for rail road). The sparse printing on the front includes “Payable at Government Rates.” The back has the issuing handstamp dated MAR 31, 1865, which was four days before the evacuation of Richmond and ten days before Lee surrendered his army to Grant.

Next shown was a Soldier’s Ticket from Greenville to Montgomery, both in Alabama, and about 45 miles apart. That was followed by one explicitly stating Railway Company, for travel from Grenada to Canton, both in Mississippi and about 90 miles apart. That was followed by a remainder (unissued) Soldier’s Ticket on the Richmond and Danville R.R. – the back of this item details its intended use: “This Ticket is issued on a requisition of the Assistant Quartermaster of the Confederate States at Richmond, Va., and will be paid for by the Confederate States, upon presenting this coupon.” A 100-share stock certificate from the 1880s of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company, a major supply route during the war, provided a brief diversion from scrip before we saw a fully hand written piece for a trip to Danville with return, dated Oct 12, 1863.

Few of these were saved, and Steve urges collectors with any to send him a high-resolution scan (at least 300 dpi) to him at sfeller@coe.edu. Steve has not yet found a match between a listing in McNeil’s books and any validators of these pieces. The closest match is between E.V. Early, a Treasury Agent at Meridian, Mississippi, who authorized a trip from Canton to Oxford, both in Mississippi and about 140 miles apart, and E.J. Early who signed for interest on a $100 CSA note from Jackson, Mississippi on July 1, 1863.

This report does not cover all of what Steve presented. More details, and images, were presented in Steve’s article on pages 236-245 of the July/August 2022 issue of Paper Money, the journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors.

Current Advertisers

Show and Tell

Items shown at our January 11, 2023 meeting,
reported by Deven Kane.

1. Robert Leonard showed three coins of the Mamluk sultan Lajin, 1296-1298: a copper fals, silver dirham, and gold dinar. In 1292, Lajin was condemned to be strangled with a bowstring, along with five other amirs. The first five died, but the bowstring broke when he was being strangled, and he was pardoned by Sultan Khalil. However, the very next year Lajin assassinated Khalil with a sword. He did not become sultan at once, however, but was chosen in 1296. Lajin was very religious and donated 20,000 dinars to repair a mosque. But some of his reforms were not taken well by some amirs, and in December 1298 Lajin was hacked to pieces.
2. John Kent showed nine crown-sized silver Spanish coins from a number of rulers.
   1. An 8 reales of Charles IV, dated 1808.
   2. An 8 reales of Ferdinand VII, dated 1820.
   3. Two 20 reales of Isabella II, dated 1854 and 1862.
   4. A 5 pesetas of Amadeo I, dated 1871.
   5. A 5 pesetas of Alfonso XII, dated 1883.
   6. Three 5 pesetas of Alfonso XIII, dated 1889, 1892, and 1897. Born in 1886 and becoming king at his birth in 1886 (but with a regent until he turned 16), these pieces have busts of him at ages of 3, 6, and 11 years.
3. Gerard Anaszewicz showed two silver coins of the great Mongol Queen Regent Turakina, who ruled, 1241-1246. The coins show an archer on horseback, chasing a hare. Turakina was the widow of Ogodei (son of Genghis Khan) and regent until the accession of her young son Guyuk. She is said to have been put to death by her son Guyuk for witchcraft, as accused when her other son, Koden, became ill and died. Both reverses have the kalima, the Islamic profession of faith.
4. Deven Kane showed four coins, presenting the first as a quiz.
   1. A small bronze coin was shown, and Deven asked us to identify: its general time period (century); the Christian religious community associated with it; and the region/city where it was issued. Some members did okay. Struck in the 7th century, near the city of Bukhara (on the Silk Road) in Central Asia, the coin has a Nestorian cross. This anonymous coin has a lion on one side and a Nestorian cross on the other, both sides within a border of pellets. This nice coin is from Vardanzi, a region near Bukhara, also called Vardana in the numismatic literature.
   2. A small bronze from early 8th century Central Asia, near the Aral Sea, weighing 3.55g; a crowned bust with a Choresmian legend around. Khusrau (died 712) was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarazm briefly in 712; he was a relative and successor of Azkajwar II. In 712, an anti-Abbasid rebellion broke out in Khwarazm, which resulted in the overthrow and death of king Azkajwar II, who had agreed to become a vassal of the Abbasids. Khusrau claimed the throne. The Abbasids invaded Khwarazm and ravaged the region, brutally massacring the rebels and burning several important objects of the Khwarazmian culture. Khusrau was killed and was replaced by Azkajwar’s son, Askajamuk II, as the new ruler of the kingdom.
   3. A silver drachm, weighing 1.57g, from a century later, this is from one of the Persian dynasties that popped up. There is fabulous detail in the mounted horseman with weapons, just fantastic. One side has an Afrighid style bust of the Tahirid ruler Abdallah ibn Tahir (798-844/5), who was a military leader and the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 828 until his death. He is perhaps the most famous of the Tahirids. His career spanned twenty-five years under three caliphs. Militarily, he is known for defeating powerful rebels in Upper Mesopotamia and in Egypt.
   4. An extremely fine silver drachm from the mid-to-late 1st century BC, weighing 3.80g and 20mm in diameter; in very high relief. Tanlis Mardates (ruled circa 80-40 BC) was the governor of the Arsacid provinces of Sakastan and Arachosia. He might have been of Parthian, or perhaps of Saka origin. He minted coins with portraits of him and a certain Rangodeme, probably his wife. On this coin, his bust is helmeted while his veiled wife holds a palm. He was probably the last Arsacid governor of the area before the rise of the dynasty of the Indo-Parthian ruler Gondophares (ruled 19-46).
5. James M. McMenamin showed an official commemorative medal for the 1977 fete des vinerons which is held about once every generation; that one from 30 July to 14 August. This Swiss medal was produced by the wine growers association, and had been given to James while on a business trip.
6. Scott McGowan showed photographs from his childhood, some with his grandfathers. This slice of family history centered on the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in upstate New York. Included were Engine 519 on display, scenes from a May 1960 train wreck, and one of his grandfathers standing in front of what had been the Oneonta, New York roundhouse, which had been the largest in the world.
7. Melissa Gumm showed Love Tokens which did not use a dime.
   1. An 1883 Silver Dollar with “Maggie” engraved.
   2. A Liberty Seated Half Dollar with a “G” engraved on the obverse. The high-grade reverse has no mint mark and no motto above the eagle, so the coin is from 1839-1863.
   3. An 1853 Liberty Seated Quarter Dollar with an “M” engraved. Some of the mounting hardware is present of the obverse.
8. Joe Boling showed his inventory list of Indianapolis National Banks, arranged by Series. Then he showed images of his latest acquisition: from a Heritage auction the prior evening, a GOOD 4 NET example of an Original Series note from the Citizens National Bank of Indianapolis, Charter 617. The note’s corners are folded down in the holder.
9. Mark Weiclaw advocated against fraudulent sales and price gouging. He sometimes is asked to appraise a collection gathered by a family member; when he tells them the bad news, no one is happy. Some members in attendance have had the same experience, some even going back 40+ years. In Mark’s recent case, the purchaser had kept the original invoices from eight shopping networks in a two-inch thick three-ring binder, arranged by network. Among the shown items were:
   1. An 1889 Silver Dollar, of the VAM 24 variety, graded MS-62 by ANACS might be the least heartbreaking: the current bid of $61 is less than the paid $85.
   2. A 1973-S silver Ike, graded PR68DCAM by PCGS, has a bid of $18 but $99.95 was paid.
   3. A 2012-W Silver Eagle, graded MS70 by PCGS, has a bid of $67 but $400 was paid – they must have charged extra for all the toning spots on the piece.
   4. A 50 coin set of counterstamped Lincoln Memorial Cents; the counterstamp is the outline of one of the 50 states, with the two-letter abbreviation inside. The cost was $89.95 plus shipping and handling.
10. Dale Lukanich showed a lead bulla, 39.5mm in diameter, of Pope Nichlas V (1447-1455). A bulla is a seal on an official document. This bulla is of a style used from 1100 into the 1800s. He started the rebuilding of many of Rome’s architectural wonders; his failure to promote religious reforms helped bring about the Reformation in the 16th century; the schism between the Eastern Church and Rome widened; and he gave the Portuguese the right to enslave Africans. This bulla is a piece of history, but history is not alwys pretty.

Reminders:

• You can email to Deven a description of what you will show at a meeting, to give him a start on this write-up.
• Send it to cccshowandtell@gmail.com
• After a meeting, all members who viewed the meeting should email him their scoring sheet – a listing of each exhibit number followed by a score (from a low of 1 to a high of 10) is all that is needed.

Counterstamped Coins for 1250th Meeting

A limited number of 2023 American Silver Eagles will be counterstamped with a 1250 Meeting stamp on one side, and the Club logo on the other side. Only pre-orders, at $60 each, will be accepted, and orders must be in by February 17, 2023.

We also can counterstamp one-ounce American Gold Eagles provided by members. The cost will be $50 for each piece, and the pieces must be delivered to Chicago Coin Company by February 10, 2023 — contact Bill Burd at (773) 586-7666.

The coins will be available at the March meeting, or you can pick them up at the CSNS show in April. Or we can ship the silver for $6.00 and the gold for $12.00.

Please send all payments to the Club, either at the P.O. Box or using Zelle — details in the Chatter Matter section.

Preview of Our March Banquet
(1250th Meeting)

Our 1249th Meeting

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is in downtown Chicago and also online on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.

Chatter Matter

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

Contacting Your Editor / Chatter Delivery Option

chatter_editor@yahoo.com

The print version of the Chatter is simply a printout of the Chatter webpage, with a little cutting and pasting to fill out each print page. The webpage is available before the Chatter is mailed.
If you would like to receive an email link to the latest issue instead of a mailed print copy, send an email to chatter_editor@yahoo.com. You can resume receiving a mailed print copy at any time, just by sending another email.

Club Officers

Correspondence

All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:
CHICAGO COIN CLUB
P.O. Box 2301
CHICAGO, IL 60690
Or email the Secretary at Secretary.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com
Payments to the Club, including membership dues, can be addressed to the Treasurer at the above street address.

Payments

Renewing Members Annual dues are $20 a year ($10 for Junior, under 18). Annual Membership expires December 31 of the year through which paid. Cash, check, or money order are acceptable (USD only please). We do not accept PayPal. Email your questions to Treasurer.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com Members can pay the Club electronically with Zelle™ using their Android or Apple smart phone. JP Morgan Chase customers can send payments to the Club via Quick Pay. To see if your Bank or Credit Union is part of the Zelle™ Payments Network, go to https://www.zellepay.com Please read all rules and requirements carefully.

• The Club has registered the Treasurer.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com address with Zelle™ to receive payments.
• When you send a payment via Zelle™, we will receive a notification.
• Be sure to fill out the “What’s this for?” field – e.g., “Dues 2023”; or “Dues 2023 & 2024” to pay for two years
• Once the transaction completes, the Club will receive your payment typically within minutes, and you will know that the payment was received.
• Be sure to have your Location enabled on your phone for the transaction.

Sharing this complete Chatter issue with a friend is simple. Just let them scan this code into their smartphone!